Friday, January 6, 2023

Stargazers Codex #011: "Canaan"

::: Canaan :::

Private Military Report:

            Canaan is a planet privately owned and mined by the Olympic Republic.  An uninhabited and isolated planet existing close to the Theta Star, its breathable atmosphere but high heat make it ideal for military testing and mining operations.  Originally, military bases were built on the far poles, and underground, in cooler areas of the planet to offset the heat.  The finding of Guide ruins on the service, however, found research moving closer to the planet’s equator.

            Many of the facilities which have been built are not made to last.  That, and the natural dry heat of the area, leave many of the facilities found in the planet’s major, central desert to be hot despite the power cooling systems used.  The finding of a Guide Ship, named Electra by the crew who attempted to excavate, has drawn military and political interest to the planet.

            Most of the work done on the Guide ruins in the area is done by proxy.  Private paramilitary and scientific companies are given permission to explore the planet under the agreement that all data found there would be turned over to the Republic governing and military bodies for ‘review.’  In reality, they are secretly funded by the government through ‘donations’ and all research done is done under government approval.

            Perhaps the greatest discovery of our spacefaring lives was found within the crashed remains of Electra—a complete Guide.  While the body was inert, it did give us a better understanding of what the Guides were.  Humanoid in design and not at all anatomically different from the average woman, the Guide appeared to be a human female, though she was entirely synthetic based upon scans.  Care has been taken to avoid any form of invasive research on its body.

            There have been efforts taken to find other ruins after the discovery of Electra, though none have produced anything.  As interest in exploration wanes, the Olympic scientific community has turned its efforts toward waking the Guide or otherwise understanding its programming and purpose.  That is why Dr. Chastity Clarke, the creator of the galaxy’s first fully functioning and learning smart A.I. program, was brought in to apply her expertise.  It is she who decided to name the Guide Lady, after the Lady of the Lake from Arthurian Legend.

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